A federal appeals court said Thursday that a judge likely overstepped his authority when he blocked a $285 million settlement over toxic mortgage securities after concluding that it was bad policy for a regulatory agency to accept a deal that does not include an admission of liability.

SEC-Citigroup deal gets new life

A federal appeals court said Thursday that a judge likely overstepped his authority when he blocked a $285 million settlement over toxic mortgage securities after concluding that it was bad policy for a regulatory agency to accept a deal that does not include an admission of liability.